Imagine a small, fast-growing tech company preparing to go public in 2025. The leadership team, relying on practices that were standard just a few years ago, drafts generic risk disclosures, leans on flexible governance structures, and assumes that their marketing materials and internal controls will pass muster as they always have. Confident, they proceed only to find themselves facing unexpected SEC scrutiny, delayed approvals, and personal liability risks for their executives and advisors.

Recent legal and policy developments continue to shape the landscape for “Missing Middle” housing initiatives, impacting developers, municipalities, and communities alike. The original alert reporting on the "Missing Middle" can be found by clicking here. 

On March 21, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, issued an interim final rule (the “Interim Rule”) under the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) whereby it (i) significantly revised the statutory definition of “reporting company”, (ii) exempts domestic entities from beneficial ownership reporting requirements, (iii) limits the scope of the CTA to non-U.S. persons, i.e., entities formed under the laws of a foreign country and that are registered to do business in any state or tribal jurisdiction in the United States, and (iv) adds an exemption from reporting, as discussed below, by moving the term “domestic reporting company” to a new exemption.  

On March 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury  (“Treasury”) announced that it will not impose penalties, fines, or pursue enforcement actions against U.S. companies, citizens, or their beneficial owners for failing to file beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) reports, pursuant to the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements final rule (31 C.F.R. 1010.380) (the “Reporting Rule”), the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) (31 U.S.C. § 5336), even after any forthcoming deadline extensions or changes to the Reporting Rule. Treasury’s announcement follows earlier guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) (the Treasury bureau responsible for enforcing the CTA)—which suspended enforcement of the March 21, 2025, filing deadline.
 

On October 25, 2024, Arlington County Court was filled to capacity as Judge Schell delivered his final judgment in the case of Marcia Nordgren v. Arlington County Board. This ruling provided much-needed clarity following the initial oral opinion, which had declared Arlington's Expanded Housing Option ("EHO") zoning and development policy unlawful. 

On September 27, 2024, a Virginia Circuit Court Judge invalidated Arlington's “Missing Middle” zoning policy, which allowed for the by-right construction of up to six dwelling units on properties in districts zoned for single-family residential dwellings. The policy is codified as “Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO) §10.4 Expanded Housing Option Development” (the “EHO”) and effectively does away with single-family only zoning restrictions. The judge found that the Arlington County Planning Commission violated procedural requirements, failed to consider environmental impacts, and did not account for compliance with state and local tree canopy requirements in its passage of the EHO. As a result of the judge’s ruling, Arlington County cannot issue any more permits under the EHO.
 

Non-compete clauses impact approximately one in five American employees or 30 million people. The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) recently proposed a ban on non-compete clauses in employment agreements. On January 11, 2023, Whiteford published an Alert on this proposal, but here’s an update about what you need to know regarding the ban and reports of recent FTC action to enforce these restrictions. 

Companies are now subject to jurisdiction in places that do not have a significant relationship to the dispute.

The Century-old Supreme Court case, Pennsylvania Fire Insurance v. Gold Issue Mining, established the “consent in registration” principle that states can exercise jurisdiction over corporations not headquartered or incorporated in the state as long as they register to do business there. On June 27, 2023, in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern, the Supreme Court held that a Pennsylvania state trial court could exercise personal jurisdiction over a non-Pennsylvania company in a suit arising out of non-Pennsylvania conduct due to this consent. Companies registered to do business in a state can now be sued in that state even when the state has little or no connection to the case.

Assessing ‘Missing Middle’ Housing Policies: Procedural Pitfalls and Policy Implications in Virginia and Beyond